The tightest connection you have ever made at a train station

[James Wake]

I did one better on Friday evening at Clapham Junction, without running made a -1 off the 2009 LOROL from Stratford via Willesden Junction on platform 1 to the 2008 Southern to Portsmouth Harbour and Bognor Regis service on Platform 13. The LOROL arrived at 2006, the Southern left at 2009.

 

[transmanche]

A regular one of mine was a zero mins connection at Reading: the 08:15 from Paddington, due 08:43, into the 08:43 to Waterloo. That would have been from the old platform 4 to 4b (now from 7 to 5, I think).

 

[crispy1978]

I've never timed them, but I've had trains waiting at the platform before that I've had to run to jump on before they depart!

 

[WelshBluebird]

Not timed it, but the closest I've done was at Cardiff Central. Coming off slightly delayed valley lines train on platform 7, and over to a FGW service to Bath Spa on platform 2, with the guard closing the doors just as I jump on. Probably was just under a minute.

 

[higthomas]

How are we defining tightest?
If it is by scheduled departure times, I've made a few -45 mins before without much of a sweat

 

[WelshBluebird]

How are we defining tightest?
If it is by scheduled departure times, I've made a few -45 mins before without much of a sweat

Indeed. It can be quite amusing when you are wanting a particular service to be delayed so you can be in time to catch it!

 

[FQ]

How are we defining tightest?
If it is by scheduled departure times, I've made a few -45 mins before without much of a sweat

Both actual times and scheduled times!

 

[krus_aragon]

I suppose my smoothest connection would have been a morning commute from Cardiff Central to Llanelli a few years back. I foolishly turned up for the weekday train on a Saturday, and found that I'd just missed the through ATW service. I hopped on the following FGW HST to Swansea, ten minutes or so behind it.

An hour later, the HST pulled into Platform 2, with the earlier ATW service in Platform 3, waiting for the HST to clear the junction so it could proceed west. I'd already made my way toward coach B or C in preparation. I stepped off as soon as the doors were unlocked, crossed the platform, and boarded the 175. We were away before I reached a seat!

 

[Vectorspace]

About 5 seconds, and that is not an exaggeration.

Birmingham New Street, transferring from a London Midland cross city line train onto an XC Voyager towards Reading.

The LM train was very late arriving, and pulled up next to the XC - on the adjacent platform on the same platform island.

I was at the door of the LM train, the door happened to be aligned with a clear path acroas the platform. As soon as it opened I sprinted across and into the XC right as its door closed.

I don't think it's possible to make a connection quicker than that.

And lucky for me it was the right train. On two occasions I sprinted for the 16:33 XC Voyager to Reading at platform 10A without checking the display, only to find it was a different XC Voyager service. The first time I ended up in Derby and the second Cheltenham Spa.
In my defence it was an XC Voyager on the right platform at the right time...

 

[jnjkerbin]

Did a +21 from a double docked Meridian at St Pancras to a 375 at London Bridge last year.

Also a +25 from Kings Cross to Waterloo East via Green Park.

 

[Hassocks5489]

Background for this one: for a couple of years there was a dedicated non-stop shuttle bus (route T123) between Feltham station and Heathrow Central Bus Station for which you could get a through rail ticket from any NR station printed to the destination HEATHROW/FLTMBUS. (Now, TfL route 285 accepts through tickets, but they are only available from a limited range of stations and are just issued to Heathrow Airport).

Anyway, to get this ticket into my collection, I somehow persuaded my parents to take this route when we flew from Heathrow to Belfast in 1999. Our journey was Hassocks > Clapham Junction > Feltham, and we needed to connect between Pfms 12 and 6. The train was several minutes late by the time we arrived at CJ, but with luggage, two 50-something parents and the hideous subway to negotiate, we managed the 30-second connection to the fast train to Feltham. Admittedly a bit pointless, because the service is quite frequent to Feltham!

 

[Tommy1581]

My tightest connection is at Newcastle. Normally as I only have around 3 hours out with my respite workers, we normally went on the Morpeth-Metrocentre service changing at Newcastle to go back to Morpeth.

Arrive at Newcastle: xx15
Depart Newcastle: xx16

That should give me 30 seconds to get from platform 7 to platform 2.

 

[martinsh]

Crewe P7-P4 (VT ex Wolverhampton onto VT to Manchester) -3 connection (and still had time to get some coke from P4!)

Those two platforms are both south facing bays !! Normal platforms for those trains are 11 and 5 - but Wolves train is scheduled to arrive first anyway ...

 

[Chapeltom]

I used to do this double connection regularly, and I think I did it probably 40-50 times and missed it ONCE.

Arrival off Lime St stopper at Manchester Oxford Road at :36
Get onto the :39 to Manchester Piccadilly
2 minute journey
Go from platform 13 to the concourse end of platform 1 for the :45 to Chinley (Sheffield stopper).

The tightest ever I remember was a :38 arrival at MCO, leaving MCO at gone :41, get off at gone :43 and board at exactly :45, as the guard saw me running done the platform at great speed!

Out of those 40-50 times it was quite often a run at Manchester Picc.